Minister for Communication, Digital Technology, and Innovations, Samuel Nartey George, has raised serious allegations against the previous Akufo-Addo administration, accusing it of entering into a questionable contract that diverts revenue meant for the National Information Technology Agency (NITA) to a private entity.
Addressing the issue, he expressed his dismay over the arrangement, which, according to him, deprives NITA of its rightful income while a third-party company benefits significantly.
“NITA has a certain contract arrangement with a third-party vendor. I have summoned that third-party vendor to appear before me tomorrow because I do not understand how all the revenue coming to NITA is being redirected. The previous administration signed a contract that diverts all of these funds, giving them to a third party,” he stated.
He further disclosed that he had been asked to approve a payment of nearly four million Ghana Cedis for services provided using NITA’s infrastructure. However, he has refused to authorize the transaction, instead referring the matter to the Attorney General.
“The payment for services using NITA’s infrastructure, which I was supposed to approve to a third-party company, was almost four million Ghana Cedis. I have refused to sign it and have referred it to the Attorney General,” he revealed.
The minister emphasized that he would not sanction any such payments until he had a full understanding of the contract, questioning why NITA was burdened with debt while private entities profited from its infrastructure.
“I will not authorise such payments until I understand why NITA is not receiving a dime while a private sector player is using NITA’s infrastructure and earning almost four million Ghana Cedis. Meanwhile, all the debt is sitting on NITA’s books while the revenue goes to the private sector,” he added.
Samuel Nartey George did not hold back in his criticism of the previous administration, describing the situation as a clear example of state capture. He assured that he would provide Parliament with a comprehensive briefing on the alleged irregularities within the ministry.
“The ministry is a true definition of state capture. I will come to the house and brief the house extensively on the rot in the ministry,” he concluded.
